It’s not a great idea to compare your monthly outgoings from this year to the equivalent from five years ago. In short: just about everything you need to pay for has become more expensive.
The price of a pint has been a contentious subject for a very long time, pre-dating the current cost of living crisis we’re all living through right now.
This writer remembers paying £6.50 for a Birra Moretti at a pub in Norwich in 2019 – perish the thought of ordering one at the same establishment in 2025. Seeing as getting a mortgage has never been harder, you’d likely have to miss out.
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Prices in London have been edging north of that for quite a long time. It’s not uncommon to pay the best part of £7 for an Amstel at your local boozer. If you’ve got the quids to buy one in somewhere like Soho, then please do get a round in.
Thankfully, cheap pints needn’t be a relic of a forgotten era. In various places around Europe, you can still get one for less than £1 if you know where to go.
One of the better and cheaper options is Debrecen, the capital of Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region. Better yet, it’s less than three hours away from London by plane.
Known as Europe’s capital of cheap pints, it’s possible to get a pint of Soproni lager there for as little as 79p according to pintprice.com.
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The average pint there costs around 82p, which is some way south of the £6.50 average you’d pay in London. Yikes indeed.
If that kind of bargain isn’t enticing enough, check out the flight prices.
In March 2025, you can head out to Debrecen with an £80 return ticket if you go on the right day. Hotel rooms average out at around £70 per night, too.
After a flight of less than three hours, you can be living it up in Debrecen for less than the price of a weekly shop for two. You’ll soon recoup a lot of that with the dirt-cheap drinks, too.
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Weather-wise it’s about what you’d expect from the UK: cold in the winter, nice and hot in the summer. Seeing as it’s further south, you can generally expect things to be a little milder than they are here during the winter months, but you’d best still pack a coat.
Along with bargain booze, Debrecen is packed with history and culture that’s worth exploring.
There’s a large yellow cathedral amidst no end of gorgeous Hungarian architecture, with lovely city streets to stroll along while you take in a coffee and pastry to set you up for the cheap pints later on.
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Museums, a zoo, and theme park round out the amenities, making for a busy but fun itinerary over a long weekend.
If you’re excited by the idea of getting away from the hustle and bustle – and the prices – of a UK city, Debrecen should shoot to the top of your potential destinations.
Topics: Alcohol
Rachael Davis